Breakfast Counts!

I've been reading a lot of articles on families eating together. Studies show that eating together has numerous benefits. Children consume healthier diets, more fruits and vegetables, more dairy. Eating together is also a time to talk, about the food, your day, and your nosy neighbor. (Admit it, not all table conversations are polite.)

We humans dine, while other animals eat. Food is more than a group of nutrients. It's talking, listening, passing down traditions, learning manners. Have you ever noticed that most famous TV shows always have a dining table?

Ok, the table is important, but dinner is just too hard for you right now. Rest easy. Breakfast is also a chance to get together. You may not sit at the table as in the old days. You may eat around the kitchen stove, over the sink. Whatever. Just try and share a few pleasant words with your family.

Here is a 'recipe' to get you started. It is based on a recipe from Bon Appetit, Ricotta Toast with Pears and Honey. It's simple and the ricotta mixture can be mixed the night before.

I made my version with cream cheese. It's a common ingredient in many American households.

Cream Cheese Toast with Fruit and Nuts

Serves 2 to 3.

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons honey or jam
2 to 3 slices of whole wheat bread, toasted
fruit, apple, pear, peach, about ½ cup per person
¼ cup, nuts, toasted and chopped

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together cream cheese and honey or jam.

2. Toast the bread. Spread  cream cheese mixture onto bread. Slice fruit and place on top of cheese. Top each piece of toast with about one tablespoon nuts.

Semester Leftovers

Late last week I was in a quandary over what to write about this week. Nothing sparked my interest. It’s that time of year – you are at the end of winter produce (or you are sick of it) and spring hasn’t quite sprung.

It is also almost the end of the semester and as usual, we have too much of some stuff and are scrounging around for other stuff. This year we had potatoes left over. They are about ready to sprout. So of course I had to save them. At least this way, I would have part of my lunch taken care of.

I decided to make mashed potatoes. Since we have other odds and ends around the food lab, I decided to throw in a couple of other things. I roasted some garlic. There is also ½ of a package of cream cheese dying a slow death. I have a colleague who puts cream cheese in her mashed potatoes. So I thought I would try that too. Afterall, I do have that ‘waste not, want not’ mentality. Off to the kitchen to make my ‘End of the Semester’ Mashed Potatoes.

‘End of the Semester’ Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

1 pound Russet potatoes

5 to 6 cloves of roasted garlic

4 ounces cream cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Peel and cube potatoes. Rinse potatoes. Drain. Add to a medium sized saucepan. Cover with water and place the lid on saucepan. Cook until potatoes can be pierced with a knife.

2. Drain and leave on burner until potatoes are dry.

3. In a large bowl, combine garlic and cream cheese. Add potatoes and mashed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you would like to tell us what you do with your 'end of the whatever' food, please do so.  We relish the ideas of other foodies.

To all you heading off someplace fun for the summer, enjoy! And please read the blog occasionally. We will be posting over the summer.